Method of making shoes



April 26, 1966 .1. G. WINKLER METHOD OF MAKING SHOES Filed May 7, 1963 .j? INVENTOR. Jilin; 6. iVZ'm/Jler //I I I United States Patent 3,247,537 METHOD OF MAKING SHUES Julius G. Winkler, Lexington, Mass, assignor to International Vuicanizing Corporation, Eoston, Mass a corporation of Massachusetts Filed May 7, 1963, Ser. No. 278,668 4 Qlairns. (Ci. 12142) This invention relates to a method of making shoes and in particular to the manufacture of shoes with bottoms applied by molding a formable material to the bottom part of an upper which has been lasted.

Customarily, molding a bottom to a shoe is carried out by lasting an upper to a last so that the lasting margin is drawn in about the shoulder of the last at the heel, toe and sides; providing a mold of one or more parts containing a mold cavity corresponding in shape to the bottom of the lasted upper; placing a bottom-forming composition in the mold cavity; supporting the last at the rim of the mold cavity; and then, by means of heat and pressure, forming and uniting the composition to the entire bottom to form an outsole comprised of a forepart and heel part. A raised heel may be formed integral with the heel part by providing a suitable recess at the bottom of the mold cavity. However, molded heels are necessarily limited to low heels such as are employed in mens and childrens shoes, as contrasted to womens high heels, since the latter cannot be satisfactorily molded in situ. Accordingly, when high heel shoes are wanted, a high heel of suitable material, with a concave cup at the base, is provided and the heel part of the bottom made, in accordance with the foregoing practice, is skived, trimmed and rounded to provide a convex crown or heel seat mound for receiving the concavity at the base of the heel whereupon the heel is engaged with the heel seat formed by such shaping and is attached in conventional fashion by driving a fastener through the bottom from the inside into the heel. The skiving and shaping of the heel part of the bottom to make the heel seat is troublesome because of the toughness af the material; is time-consuming because it must be performed largely as a hand operation; and finally, even when performed with care, does not insure as trim or neat junction between the heel and bottom as desired.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a method for making shoes of the foregoing kind with a finished outsole and a heel seat surface which will not have to be manually prepared for application of the heel thereto.

The method of providing a shoe, in accordance with the foregoing object, comprises simultaneously applying pressure and heat to the naked lasting margin at the heel end of a lasted upper all of the way in to the inner edge thereof and then forming a bottom-forming composition to the bottom inwardly of the inner edge of the lasting margin at the heel end while confined to a thickness substantially equal to the thickness of the lasting margin and to an area overlapping the lasting margin at the forepart corresponding in area and thickness to the finished outsole to provide an outsole and a smooth, slightly convex heel seat surface of lesser thickness than the outsole. The difference in thickness is formed so that there is a rearwardy facing shoulder at the iunction of the outsole and heel seat surface corresponding substantially in thickness to the breast of the heel to be attached thereto. Preferably the outsole is formed somewhat thinner at its peripheral edge than the full thickness of the sole. A stiffener having heel and shank portions and containing one or more holes may be assembled with the upper so as to be embedded in the bottom-forming composition when the latter is formed to the bottom and so as to penetrate the holes in the stiffener.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

3,247,537 Patented Apr. 26, 1966 FIG. 1 is a plan view of a mold showing the mold cavity;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section taken longitudinally of FIG. 1 on the line 22;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a transverse section of a last, to smaller scale, showing an upper lasted thereto, with the lasting margin extending inwardly subjacent the shoulder of the last;

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of a shoe with a bottom applied thereto, in accordance with the invention, ready for receiving a heel;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of the shoe shown in FIG. 6, showing a high heel in dot-and-dash lines applied thereto;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary transverse section of the shoe taken on the line 8-8 of FIG. 6; a

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary transverse section taken on th line 99 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary transverse section taken on the line 1i-1li of FIG. 6;

FEG. 11 is a plan View of a fiber-reinforcing element; and

FIG. 12 is an edge view of the fiber-reinforcing element.

In the manufacture of a shoe embodying the structure of the present invention, an upper U is mounted on a last L (FIG. 5), for example an aluminum last of the kind used for supporting an upper for forming a bottom thereto by means of heat and pressure. Such a last is illustrated in Patent No. 2,878,523, dated March 24, 1959, to Henry Hardy, and the upper is lasted in place by means of a new string 3 at the inner edge of the lasting margin. This mode of lasting is commonly referred to as string lasting.

The kind of upper mate-rial and fastening means employed for lasting the upper to the last is a matter of choice and may be selected according to specification and/ or expediency. A wood last may be used in place of an aluminum last if it is not desirable to transfer the upper from one last to another for the bottom-forming operation.

The last is supported for movement into engagement with the open top of a mold by apparatus such as shown in the foregoing patent or in Patent No. 3,063,096, dated November 13, 1962, to Henry Hardy.

The upper, as illustrated herein, does not include an insole, however, it is to be understood that an insole may be employed if desired. Additionally, the upper may have at the heel end a lining and a counter stiffener between the upper and lining. A fiber shank stiffener may be employed in the bottom at the heel having a part which is coextensive with the heel seat and a part coextensive with the shank and may include a metal reinforcing element, as will appear hereinafter.

The mold 1t (FIGS.'1 and 2), by means of which the shoe is made, is comprised of a bottom and walls. The bottom part 12 has a forepart portion 12a, forwardly of the breast line of the heel, which corresponds substantially in area to the bottom of the lasted upper, forwardly of the breast line of the heel, and a heel portion 12b of lesser area than the corresponding area of the heel end of the last. Preferably the area of the heel part corresponds substantially in area to the area of the bottom of the last situated inwardly of the inner edge of the lasting margin at the heel end and is raised with respect to the forepart portion 12a so as to provide a transverse shoulder at the junction of the forepart and the heel part.

The walls of the mold are constituted by two parts 18-18'shaped to fit together about the bottom part along the longitudinal median of the bottom and providing, in conjunction with the bottom, an open top mold cavity 24.

As thus constructed, the forepart portion 24a of the mold cavity, forwardly of the breast line of the heel, which includes the shank, corresponds substantially in area to the outline of the shoulder of the last, that is, its projected area, and the portion 24b of the mold cavity, rearwardly of the breast line, is of smaller area than the bottom of the last, corresponding substantially to the area within the inner edge of the lasting margin.

The upper surfaces of the walls surrounding the mold cavity are beveled to form a shoulder 26 for supporting the lasted upper above the bottom of the mold cavity. The portion 26a of the shoulder 26, forwardly of the breast line of the heel, is relatively narrow, engaging the upper substantially at the shoulder, and the portion 26b, rearwardly of the breast line, is of greater width and engages the inwardly projecting lasting margin subjacent the shoulder of the last.

The bottom part 12 is supported with its top surface at a level with respect to the walls such as to provide a bottom of suitable thickness and preferably the inner faces of the walls, at least forwardly of the breast line of the heel, are provided with grooves 23 to impart a feather to the edge of the sole.

The shoe is made by placing a last L, such as shown in FIG. 5, with the upper U string-lasted thereto, with its bottom side engaged with the shoulder 26 of the mold, as shown 'in FIGS. 1 and 2, pressing the last firmly against the shoulder and heating the last and mold to conform the bottom-forming material in the mold cavity to the bottom of the upper. The bottom-forming material, forwardly of the breast line, will flow laterally into conformance with the inner sides of the walls so as to provide a tread for the shoe, which corresponds in area to the projection of the shoulder of the last. As shown in FIG. 10, the bottom-forming composition embeds the lasting margin m and the lasting element s. By controlling the heightwise position of the bottom part 12 relative to the sides, the thickness of the bottom at the forepart may be controlled. Rearwardly of the breast line the composition spreads laterally to the inner edge of the lasting margin (FIG. 8) where it is stopped by the seal between the lasting margin and the shoulder 26b thereby leaving the portion of the lasting margin subjacent the shoulder substantially naked of the bottom-forming composition. The marginal portion however is subjected to the pressure and heat employed in eflecting the bottom-forming operation and is shaped thereby so as to form with the bottom material inwardly thereof a convex surface It adapted to nest with the concave surface at the base of the heel. Thus, when the bottom-forming operation has been completed, it is not necessary to skive or trim the excess material from the margin and hence a heel may be applied thereto without further preparation.

As heretofore indicated (FIGS. 11 and 12), a bottom stiffener f is included by placing it on the bottom of the last inside of the inwardly lasted margin of the upper and in order to anchor the stilfener securely in place, it is provided with a plurality of elongate holes 40 through which the bottom-forming composition penetrates, as shown, for example, in FIGS. 8 and 9. To facilitate assembly without danger of the stiffener slipping out of place, the heel end may have a hole 42 for engagement with a pin set into the bottom of the last at the heel end.

The stiffener shown herein, is a fiber material however it may be of any other suitable material and may include a metal or wood reinforcing member r as is also 'shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

and the heel seat area rearwardly of the breast line of the heel, this level being defined by a transversely extending shoulder b, the height of which is substantially equal .to the height of the breast line of the heel at the base, as illustrated, for example, in FIG. 7, where the heel is shown in dot-and-dash lines positioned on the heel seat area.

Attachment of a heel to the shoe as thus prepared is effected in a conventional manner by inserting a fastening element through the bottom stiffener and the bottomforming material subjacent the stiffener from inside of the shoe into the base of the heel.

While the heel is illustrated herein, as a womans high heel, it is within the scope of the invention to apply heels of any desired kind in this fashion and to obtain the benefits of this method of manufacture, to wit, a neat, sharp llne at the junction of the heel and upper which is characteristic of custom-made shoes and a firm stable base for the heel which minimizes accidental detachment of the heel.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall Within the scope of the appended claims.

1 claim:

1. A method of making a shoe which comprises assembling an upper together with a stiffener having heel and shank portions containing one or more holes; forming, by means of heat and pressure, a bottom blank to the upper which, rearwardly of the breast line, is confined to an area smaller than the heel end, leaving a portion of the margin subjacent the shoulder at the heel end substantially naked, said area corresponding substantially in thickness to the margin and penetrating the holes in the stiffener; and, while forming the bottom blank to the heel end inwardly of the naked margin, subiecting the naked margin to heat and pressure to form a convex heel seat for reception of a heel.

2'. A method of making shoes which comprises simultaneously, applying pressure and heat to the naked lasting margin at the heel end of a lasted upper all of the way into the inner edge thereof, and forming a bottomforming composition to the bottom of the shoe inwardly of said edge of the lasting margin at the heel end while confining it to a thickness substantially equal to the thickness of the lasting margin and to an area overlapping the lasting margin at the forepart corresponding in area and thickness to the finished outsole to be attached, to provide a finished outsole and a smooth, slightly convex heel seat surface of lesser thickness than the outsole.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein a rearwardly facing shoulder is formed at the junction of the outsole and heel seat area corresponding substantially in thickness to the top of a heel at the breast, and attaching a heel by placing the breast of the heel against said shoulder and then inserting fastening means from the inside of the shoe through the heel seat into the heel.

4. A method according to claim 2, wherein the overlapping portion of the bottom-forming composition at the forepart is confined to a lesser thickness at the peripheral edge than the 'full thickness of the sole.

References tilted by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,016,070 10/1935 Brockman 36-25 2,455,500 12/1948 Knellwolf 36-25 2,799,034 4/1957 Crowell et al. 12-142 3,016,569 1/1962 Bingham et al. 18-17 3,048,893 8/1962 Choice 18-17 3,052,903 9/1962 La Rose 12142 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,157,315 5/1958 France. 1,189,039 3/1959 France.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Examiner. 

1. A METHOD OF MAKING A SHOE WHICH COMPRISES ASSEMBLING AN UPPER TOGETHER WITH A STIFFENER HAVING HEEL AND SHANK PORTIONS CONTAINING ONE OR MORE HOLES; FORMING, BY MEANS OF HEAT AND PRESSURE, A BOTTOM BLANK TO THE UPPER WHICH, REARWARDLY OF THE BREAST LINE, IS CONFINED TO AN AREA SMALLER THAN THE HEEL END, HAVING A PORTION OF THE MARGINAL SUBJACENT THE SHOULDER AT THE HEEL END SUBSTANTIALLY NAKED, SAID AREA CORRESPONDING SUBSTANTIALLY IN THICKNESS TO THE MARGIN AND PENETRATING THE HOLES IN THE STIFFENER; AND, WHILE FORMING THE BOTTOM BLANK TO THE HEEL END INWARDLY OF THE NAKED MARGIN, SUBJECTING THE NAKED MARGIN TO HEAT AND PRESSURE TO FORM A CONVEX HEEL SEAT FOR RECEPTION OF A HEEL. 